Oliver Purnell and Doug Bruno will throw out the first pitch and sing the seventh-inning stretch at Thursday's 1:20 p.m. Cubs game.

Aug. 29, 2012

CHICAGO – DePaul basketball coaches Oliver Purnell and Doug Bruno will throw out the first pitch and sing "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" during the seventh-inning stretch at Wrigley Field during the Chicago Cubs’ game on Thursday versus the Milwaukee Brewers.

Purnell and Bruno will throw out the pitch prior to Thursday’s game which is scheduled to start at 1:20 p.m. The pair will then join forces for the seventh-inning stretch and join Len Kasper and Bob Brenly in the bottom half of the frame to talk DePaul basketball and the 2012 London Olympics.

Purnell is beginning his third season at the helm of the Blue Demons men’s program and has a core group of veterans including juniors Cleveland Melvin and Brandon Young. Melvin is a preseason BIG EAST Conference Player of the Year candidate and is the league’s top returning scorer at 17.5 points per game as a sophomore. Young, a guard, ranked ninth in the BIG EAST with 4.74 assists per game while averaging 14.5 points.

Bruno returns to the United States after helping the USA Women’s National Basketball team to a gold medal in London. Bruno served as an assistant coach for the team – working under Geno Auriemma and alongside Jennifer Gillom and Marynell Meadors.

The women’s team returns four of its five starters from a year ago including preseason All-American candidate Anna Martin. Martin led the BIG EAST in scoring a season ago with 19.1 points and was also a finalist for the State Farm Wade Trophy.